NBA stars on investment opportunities

Nigeria's basketball team honoured the late Sound Sultan in their friendly game against Australia early Wednesday morning.

Nigerian basketball is an Olympic medal candidate, with a team made up mainly of US-based players. But some question whether relying on the diaspora is a sustainable long-term model for basketball in the country.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

Bucks fans were seen in front of the official team shop outside the home stadium of the Milwaukee Bucks Fiserv Forum on Wednesday in downtown Milwaukee after their side won the NBA title the previous night. The Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA championship in 50 years with some fans having waited their whole lives to see the team.

As captain of Afghanistan's wheelchair basketball team and a women's rights activist, Nilofar Bayat fled for her life when the Taliban took over, seeking safety in Spain where she hopes to soon be back on the court.

When she was growing up in Australia's biggest city of Sydney, Liz Mills dreamt of one day becoming a professional basketball coach. Little did she know that she would end up having fame thrust upon her thousands of kilometres away in Africa, where she has made history as the first woman to coach a men's basketball team in a continental tournament.

U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the Milwaukee Bucks at the White House after their victory in the 2021 NBA Finals.

Enes Kanter Freedom is a Turkish-born basketball player who is now a US citizen and plays for the Boston Celtics. He is also a human rights activist. In an interview with FRANCE 24, Freedom criticised billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk for opening a Tesla showroom in China's Xinjiang region, where the minority Uighurs are persecuted. He also accused Nike – the NBA's main sponsor – of "modern slavery" in China. Ahead of the Beijing Olympics, Freedom called on athletes to make their voices heard, saying the diplomatic boycott was "good but not enough".

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson earned the nickname "Game Six Klay" due to his spectacular play in those critical contests but said he is not looking to force the issue in Game Six of the Finals on Thursday (June 16). Thompson has been steadily warming up during the series and the game offers the Warriors a chance to beat the Celtics on the road and claim their fourth championship in eight years.

US gold medal Olympian Brittney Griner is on trial in Russia after police allegedly found cannabis vape canisters in her luggage. The basketball star said she had no intention of breaking the law.

'She hopes she could be coming home' - lawyer at US basketball star drugs trial